By Rep. Paul Anderson
The signature piece of legislation passed so far in the Minnesota House this session is the tax bill, a $1.35 billion collection of incentives and roll-backs that affect nearly every resident in the state.
Ranging from exclusions pertaining to the commercial property tax to conformity with the federal government’s estate tax provisions, this bill rolls back the amount of taxes paid by Minnesotans. It also contains the provision to have the state pay a credit to the owners of agricultural land levied for school capital referendums.
Tucked toward the back of the massive bill, on pages 161 and 170, are items related to the city of Melrose and the devastating fire on its main street last year. There is a provision that exempts materials and supplies used in, and equipment incorporated into, the construction or replacement of real property that is located in Melrose affected by the fire on Sept. 8. This sales tax exemption is effective retroactively for sales and purchases made after the fire occurred and remains in effect until the end of 2018.
Another provision will aid the city with street and utility reconstruction. There is funding to help cover the cost of hazardous material removal, and also for tax abatements for reconstructed buildings. In all, funding provided in the tax bill to help Melrose amounts to approximately $1.5 million. Similar legislation is being carried in the Senate by Torrey Westrom. However, since there are other differences between the tax bills in each chamber, they will go to a conference committee to iron out differences in the language.
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I met this past week with a group of veterinary students in St Paul. They were all attending the University of Minnesota vet school and seemed like outstanding young adults. It’s not an easy school to get into, as over 700 students apply each year for the approximately 100 spots available. It’s also an expensive school to attend, with resident College of Veterinary Medicine tuition for the current year listed at $33,420, which is the fifth highest among U.S. veterinary schools. For a non-resident it’s even more expensive, with the price tag coming in at over $58,000, the second highest in the country.
And here is the number that shocked me: The median student debt for Minnesota DVM graduates is $179,000.
Our nation is facing a shortage of veterinarians. Not enough students are training to work with dairy cows, beef cattle, swine, poultry, sheep and goats. Rural areas are not attracting the veterinarians they need, with one of the reasons being the aforementioned huge debt load these students face upon graduation. Many are going into small animal private practice, which has the opportunity for higher salaries.
According to the College of Veterinary Medicine, only 14 percent of graduating seniors are going into the food animal industry, and there is a shortage of food-supply veterinarians. We need more food animal vets to help us maintain our strong agricultural economy which provides Minnesota with over $21 billion in annual receipts. We are No. 1 in the nation for turkey production, No. 3 in swine, No. 6 in cheese and red meat, and No. 8 in milk production.
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